TORONTO -- As they say about baseball, this post is all about pitching.

Javier Vazquez
A string of five ineffective starts has caught up to the veteran right-hander, who may have started his last game for the Yankees. Manager Joe Girardi said on Tuesday that Vazquez is going to be skipped on Sunday in favor of rookie Ivan Nova.

It's the latest twist in what's been a tumultuous return to the Bronx for Vazquez, who got shelled early, settled into a strong stretch, lost velocity fastball, got tagged with the dreaded "dead arm," and now, has possibly lost his job to a rookie while in the middle of a pennant race.

"I'm disappointed obviously," said Vazquez who in the meantime will be available out of the bullpen. "But I'm also not doing my job so I understand that part."

In his last five starts, Vazquez has a 7.43 ERA, and hasn't lasted long enough to pitch six innings. In that span, opponents battered Vazquez for a .343 average and a whopping .405 on-base percentage while piling on 35 hits in 23 innings.

Girardi pins Vazquez's struggles not to his fastball issues but to his changeup, which hasn't nearly been as consistent as it's been in the past.

"I just think his command hasn't been as good and I don't think he's had the consistency he's had in his changeups," Girardi said. "That's a big pitch for him."

When the Yankees skipped Vazquez for a start earlier this season, it helped turn the pitcher's season around. "It seemed to jump start him," Girardi said.

But this scenario is different in that Vazquez could bank on a return to the rotation. In this case, his future is murky.

"I think last time was more mental than any other thing," Vazquez said. "This time, I feel good physically and mentally but I'm not throwing the ball well."

Ivan Nova
Past Sunday's start against the White Sox, Girardi insists that no decisions have been made about what lies ahead for Nova or Vazquez. Still, Girardi doesn't seem to have any hesitation to stick with the hot hand, if that option is presented to him.

"Obviously if a guy gets hot, you're going to look at him every time and maybe send him out there every five days," he said. "This gives us a plan through Sunday and this gives us time to talk about it and evaluate what we want to do."

Nova's two runs in 5 1/3 innings on Tuesday night left a good impression on Girardi, who said the 23-year-old showed plenty of poise.

"I saw a toughness, I saw a resiliency," said Girardi, who believes Nova's stuff is better than what he showed against the Blue Jays. "It's only one start and you don't want to make too much of it but he got the bases loaded with nobody out and Vernon Wells up. He could have caved right there. But he didn't. He continued to make pitches."

Phil Hughes
The right-hander's innings cap is believed to be somewhere between 175 and 185 innings. He's at 140 2/3 entering Wednesday's start against the Blue Jays. He could make as many as seven starts between now and the rest of the season, and Hughes continues at his current pace, Girardi said it's highly unlikely that the pitchers stays under the cap without some manipulation.

The choices are to skip Hughes, as the Yankees did earlier this season, or to cut the pitcher's outings short in the same way they handled Joba Chamberlain last year.

"There's a lot of little things I can do to conserve some innings," said Girardi, who ruled out a six man rotation. "I don't think it's going to be huge issue going down the stretch."

He said the plan with Hughes remains fluid.

"We'll be flexible with Hughes as we're moving down the stretch here," Girardi said. "You never know what he'll give you every night so you don't want to get too locked in."

Something to keep in mind: Vazquez's presence in the bullpen could make it easier to shorten Hughes' starts to keep him under the cap. Also, Girardi said the team is likely to stay at 13 pitchers for the rest of the month.